Really Big Prints! 2023

Really Big Prints! (RBP) is a biennial, multi-day, large-scale relief printmaking event in Two Rivers, WI. RBP is hosted by Wisconsin printmakers Berel Lutsky (UW Green Bay-Manitowoc Campus, Emeritus), Katie Ries (St. Norbert College), and Stephanie Carpenter (Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum).

Spotlight: Wayzgoose Scholarship Winner Nancy Ariza

The transcript below is from an interview with 2023 Really Big Prints scholarship winner Nancy Ariza about her Big Prints design and process.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum

How did you get started with printmaking? What role does it play in your life today? 

I got into printmaking in 2011 while I was studying at Minnesota State University-Mankato. I started out as an Art History major, and during the fall semester of what was supposed to be my final year of undergrad, I took a relief and intaglio class and I fell in love with printmaking. Up until that point, I hadn’t found a medium that I was really passionate about or that came to me naturally. My strongest skills were in drawing, and I realized that my approach to mark making translated well to printmaking, specifically relief. After taking that course and creating several successful prints, I decided to stay an extra year to double major and obtain my BFA in Printmaking.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum 

After graduating, I moved back to the Twin Cities and began getting involved in a variety of art organizations, including Highpoint Center for Printmaking and Minnesota Center for Book Arts, where I started teaching printmaking and book arts. I enjoy seeing people get really excited about the surprise factor of creating a print–you never really know what you’re going to get until you peel the paper off of the block. Many years later, my journey as an educator led me to teaching at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and now I’m beginning a new role as Artist Education Programs Manager at Highpoint Center for Printmaking. In the midst of teaching and developing educational printmaking programming, I try to maintain a studio practice. 

Who or what are some of your biggest influences and inspirations? 

I’m currently looking at traditional textiles and handmade paper from central Mexico and researching my family lineage. I see my work as a form of documentation to preserve family stories in an attempt to better understand and honor my ancestral roots. 

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum 

Can you tell us a little bit about the print you made at RBP and how it relates to your other work? 

This print is part of a larger body of work entitled “Breaking the Horse’s Jaw,” which is inspired by researching my Mexican heritage and its connections to horsemanship. My family is from a small town in the state of Morelos called Quebrantadero, nicknamed “lugar donde se quebranta la quijada del caballo para el freno,” translating to “place where the horse’s jaw is broken for the bridle.” It was founded as a hub for horse training. 

We are generations of horse people–owners, trainers, and artisans. For a period in his life, my paternal grandfather worked as an artisan making fustes (saddle trees) and embroidering saddles with traditional geometric patterns and floral motifs. These patterns directly influenced the print I created. I combined these elements in a symmetrical composition inspired by papel picado, Mexican cut paper.  As a second generation Mexican-American, I was lucky enough to continue this tradition of horsemanship in my family having grown up taking lessons in Western, English, and Dressage riding, as well as caring for my own horse for many years. 

Some of my research for this body of work comes from oral histories conducted by 12 women that were published into a book by Quebrantadero’s community museum, El Fueste, as well as familial stories. The work includes experiments with relief, dry pigment screenprinting, natural dyes, and embroidery on fabric, and one of my goals is to present a diverse cultural perspective on horses. The equestrian field in the United States is predominantly white, and it fails to acknowledge that many cultures around the world and in the U.S. share connections to horses. 

What drew you to Really Big Prints? What did you enjoy most about it? 

Creating a steamroller print has always been on my bucket list as a printmaker, so I was thrilled when the opportunity came about. I found that the challenge of going big gave me the opportunity to dive back into my woodcut practice, and it really pushed me technically as I’ve been exclusively working in screenprint for the past few years. It also was exciting to learn the logistics of the steamroller printing process in such a fun and supportive environment. 

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum 

What's next for you? What are you looking forward to in the coming months/years?

In the coming months I will be revisiting this piece and experimenting with adding embroidered elements. I also plan to start another 32” x 60” block to continue this series and look for exhibition opportunities to show this in-progress body of work.  

Is there anything else you'd like to mention that we haven't covered?  

I want to thank Katie Ries, Berel Lutsky, and Stephanie Carpenter for the opportunity and scholarship to participate in this wonderful event. A huge thank you to my assistant Sam Estabrooks, and Mai Tran, Taryn Sakry, and Dana Sikkila for their support on printing day.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum 

Printing Event at Hamilton: July 19-22, 2023

The artists for 2023 have been selected. The printing event is free and open to the public, so please plan to join us at the Hamilton museum July 19-22 to see some large prints created by artists from across the country. Printing will occur from 8am-12pm and from 1-5pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and 8am-12pm on Saturday. This event will take place in the back parking lot of the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum building located at 1816 10th Street, Two Rivers, WI 54241. Please park in the front lot and follow the signs to the printing extravaganza!

Really Big Prints! (RBP) is a biennial, multi-day, large-scale relief printmaking event in Two Rivers, WI. RBP is hosted by Wisconsin printmakers Berel Lutsky (UW Green Bay-Manitowoc Campus, Emeritus), Katie Ries (St. Norbert College), and Stephanie Carpenter (Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum).

In 2023 Really Big Prints! has a new partner and location: the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. We’re excited to see what comes of our collaboration!



A huge Hamilton thank you goes out to our Sponsor for Really Big Prints 2023:

Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry

MORE INFORMATION

For more information on materials and RBP! goings-on see https://reallybigprints.org/

If you have any questions please e-mail us at info@woodtype.org or call 920-794-6272.